DJ Broadcast, arguably Holland’s most influential online dance resource, shortlisted Ben La Desh as one of 2014’s potential breakthrough producers, but picked someone else because they deemed the Rotterdam native to have so much class and talent he’d also get there without the push of a magazine. It’s nice to see his talents getting the recognition they deserve, as the man has been quietly building a modest but most impressive body of work, in which quality reigns over quantity. In 2013 BLD put out a single on our own Black Ops label that sold out in a matter of weeks, made an appearance on a well received ISM compilation and released another track on Dirt Crew.
It sure looks like Ben La Desh is bent on delivering on his promise in 2014 and further cementing his reputation as a beatsmith 'hors categorie'. Step one in the path to world domination: a belter of a new EP on Young Adults, ‘Wondering What We Are’. We’ve been itching to get our hands on this for a good while now, but pressing issues messed up the release schedule of the L.A. based imprint. The digital release has already been doing the rounds for a while, but as nothing beats the black stuff we patiently awaited to arrival of the real thing before donning our writer’s caps and getting jiggy with it.
We’re dealing with a four track affair here, presented in a delightful, custom-printed sleeve with rows of swaying palmtrees. Afrodesia kicks off proceedings on the A, a tune with so much drive it makes you want to hop in the car and push the petal to the metal with the top down. The synths keep building and building, while the tight drums and heavy bassline provide the oomph. Short vocal stabs and understated melody lines weave in and out, keeping you on the edge of your driver’s seat.
‘Your Love’ sees Ben La Desh venturing into hazy downtempo Dilla territory to great effect with its chunky drums and choppy trumpet samples.
Flip over for ‘We Are’, our pick of the bunch here, a moody workout with incredible drums (that drumroll at the end of each bar is to die for), pushed along by muted flute lines and building synths. It’s not a mile off from ‘Motion’, a track that featured on his debut single for our Black Ops label and one of the undisputed highlights of our modest catalogue, so you can imagine we’re a bit excited about this tune. The dark and shuffly techno-not-techno ‘Why Don’t You’, with vocals from Josie Akers ‘Why Don’t You’, wraps thing up in style.
Another well-rounded and sophisticated record from our boy Ben then, which is available over at most retailers now, like Juno
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